


Spiders and Demigods

by vixx_3



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Crossover, F/M, and cannot keep a secret to save his life, percy and annabeth are pros at this, peter is like 16-17, spider-man/pjo crossover because i kept seeing posts about it and i had to write it
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-01
Updated: 2018-11-29
Packaged: 2019-08-14 01:09:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,546
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16483196
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vixx_3/pseuds/vixx_3
Summary: New York is the city of dreams and of chaos. Fortunately, residents are used to it, and dealing with gods will desensitize anyone. So when Spider-man debuts as a superhero, Percy and Annabeth are hardly surprised. They just didn't expect to get so involved with it.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is a crossover fic between the MCU (mostly SM:HC) and Percy Jackson! I've never written in either fandom before, but this fic has been bouncing around my brain for a while now and I had to get it out. Please enjoy the read, and feel free to drop a kudos or leave some feedback in the comments!  
> Working title (gimme suggestions!).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a crossover fic between the MCU (mostly SM:HC) and Percy Jackson! I've never written in either fandom before, but this fic has been bouncing around my brain for a while now and I had to get it out. Please enjoy the read, and feel free to drop a kudos or leave some feedback in the comments!  
> Working title (gimme suggestions!).

          “Hey, Annabeth, have you heard of this new superhero?”

          Annabeth looked up from her position on the floor of Percy’s cabin. Chiron had stopped trying to enforce the “alone in a cabin” rule for the two of them after they admitted that they were breaking it to seek comfort from nightmares. Nonstop quests from age twelve had been bad enough, but Tartarus was more than they could handle alone. They tried not to abuse Chiron’s special treatment, and would leave the door open on nice days, but did spend a lot of time in the quiet of the Poseidon cabin whenever Tyson wasn’t visiting.

          Taking Percy’s offered phone, Annabeth saw that the screen was open to his Instagram feed where there was a blurry action shot of a boy dressed in red and blue hundreds of stories above the streets of New York. The caption read: “Spider-man swings onto the crime fighting scene of New York! Is the arachnid at all related to the Avengers?”

          “Huh,” Annabeth said, handing the phone back. “Spider-man? Is he like Ant Man? Also, how do you feel about moving to Europe with me?”

          Percy laughed. “It doesn’t say,” he replied, “But let’s not move to Europe. I want to stay near my mom. Speaking of, she and Paul invited us to lunch today. Do you want to go early and get coffee?”

          Annabeth used his bed to leverage herself to her feet, pocketing her own phone and holding out her hand for his. “Sounds good. Pegasus or cab?”

          “It’s like you think that’s a question,” Percy answered, taking her hand and leading her toward the stables.

          Blackjack came running at Percy’s whistle, as did another pegasus who had taken a liking to Annabeth. She had never excelled at pegasus riding in camp, but a few one on one lessons with Percy had made her comfortable and confident as they flew through the air. Her pegasus, who had informed Percy that his name was Spartan, was a pretty dappled grey a few hands taller than Blackjack. He was used as a riding horse for a mortal, wings disguised by the Mist, and had been sold to Chiron when his owner grew too old to take care of him. Spartan had instantly taken a liking to the camp, and was more than happy to work as a lesson pony for new campers, but clearly favored Annabeth.

          The pegasi dropped them off at the top of their customary apartment building, and the demigods quickly skipped down the fire escape to street level. Their favorite Starbucks, the one Percy insisted had “the comfiest chairs and the nicest baristas” even when Annabeth told him every Starbucks was the same, was a short walk away.

          “So what do you think?” Annabeth asked, falling into step with her boyfriend. “Is this Spider-guy a demigod, or superhuman?”

          “Spider-man,” Percy corrected her. “And it’s hard to say. I mean, powers-wise, what’s really the difference?”

          Annabeth hummed. “Good point. If he was a demigod, he looks old enough that he would have been killed or sent to camp by now. Besides, what parent could he have that would let him shoot webs?”

          “Arachne maybe? If she can even have kids. Though she was still out of commission last I heard.”

          Annabeth shuddered at the mention of the monster, tightening her hold on Percy’s hand. He squeezed back in apology and waited for her to speak.

          “I don’t think Arachne fully counts as a goddess,” she said, pausing while Percy opened the door to the Starbucks and dodged through the crowd to get in line. “I mean, she was just a mortal until Athena cursed her. So if she did have kids, wouldn’t they be mortal?”

          Percy pursed his lips. “I’m not sure. I mean, she’s a massive spider-demon now. Even if she isn’t, like, 100% goddess, her kids would at least be a little bit more than human.”

          Annabeth’s calculating gaze, previously staring at nothing, snapped into focus as she met the eyes of the boy in front of them. He started, sheepish, but didn’t turn away.

          “Sorry to interrupt, but I’m with him. If Arachne had kids, they wouldn’t be normal. Is this something you two usually talk about? I mean, nothing against it! It’s just… You talk like you know her personally. Which is cool! I know with fiction, you talk in present tense because it never really started, so how could it end. We learned that in English class last week…”

          The kid trailed off, cheeks coloring. Annabeth glanced at Percy to see her shock reflected on his face. It wasn’t every day you got caught arguing the semantics of superhuman reproduction in public.

          Percy stared at the kid. He was maybe sixteen or seventeen, barely younger than the two of them. Nothing about his looks were familiar, but Percy recognized the way he spoke. He spoke how Grover used to in middle school, with the soft tone and rambly nervousness of a child used to being bullied. Impulsively, perhaps as a habit from time spent with Grover and from his own experience being bullied, Percy decided to befriend him.

          Breaking the silence, he said, “Right? I’m totally with you. No way some big old spider hag would have just, human kids. That would be dumb. And hey man, don’t worry about it. We talk about this stuff all the time. For our Mythology club at school. We’re both very involved with it.” Annabeth squeezed his hand, and he glanced at her to see that she was holding back a grin.

          “Whoa, a Mythology club? That’s so cool! I wish my school did stuff like that. Hey, I’m Peter by the way.” The kid, Peter, stuck out his hand for a handshake. Both Percy and Annabeth shook it, exchanging names. At the call of the barista, Peter turned around and ordered the most excessively sweet and caffeinated item they sold. Percy didn’t mind sweet things, and often found himself ordering drinks with caramel and whipped cream, but the abomination that Peter ordered was intense.

          When the barista announced his total, Peter smiled at her and reached for his back pocket. Then his other back pocket, then both fronts. He tried his jacket. He was just about to start the cycle over again, smile turned panicky, when Percy stopped him with a hand on his shoulder.

          “Can we add a caramel macchiato and a chai latte to that order?” he asked, smiling and disentangling his hand from Annabeth’s to pull out his own wallet. Peter started to protest, but Percy shook his head and handed the barista a card. Receipt in hand, he lead Peter to a nearby table and sat down as if nothing had happened. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught Annabeth shaking her head fondly at him, but didn’t acknowledge.

          “No Mythology club, huh? What kind of school doesn’t have a Mythology club?”

          Peter, blushing slightly but smiling thankfully, answered softly, “Midtown High. We’re super sciencey. Hey, thanks for that, by the way. I must have left my wallet in my suit.”

          “Ooh, a suit?” Annabeth piped in, “Fancy.”

          “Oh! It’s- it’s not that kind of suit. I mean, it is! That’s exactly the type of suit it is, it’s a fancy suit.” Stark’s suit was quite fancy. Maybe not in the way that Annabeth was imagining, but close enough.

          Percy raised an eyebrow at his stumbled response, but decided not to press. “It’s fine, you can pay me back someday. I’ve been there man, I’ve lost count of how many wallets I’ve dropped and lost and waterlogged.”

          Peter grinned, thankful for the change in subject. “Man, me too!” he said, brushing his hair out of his face. “I drop mine all the time when I’m-” he cut himself off, then recovered “-running! Running around, and jumping. I like doing parkour.”

          Ignoring yet another stumble, Percy answered, “Hey, that’s cool! Annabeth here is killer at judo, and can parkour roll with the best of them.”

          Annabeth hummed, looking up from her phone at the mention of her name. “Huh? Yeah, I know judo. Percy, look at this.” She slid her phone across the table toward him, open on its screen an article. The headline read, “Spider-man saves two from fire, but is it worth the damage he caused?” Under the headline was a photo, much clearer than earlier, of Spider-man diving toward the ground in front of the cameraman, house aflame behind him.

          “Man, they’re being pretty harsh on this guy. Plenty of superheroes end up with collateral damage. Are they really criticising someone who saved two people from a fire?”

          “Right?” Annabeth said, recovering her phone. “He’s a newbie, of course it’ll be a little messy at first.”

          “Hey, can I see that?” Peter reached across the table for Annabeth’s phone, thanking her when she handed it to him. He skimmed through the article, biting his lip.

          “Harsh, huh?” Percy asked, nonchalant and lighthearted.

          Peter nodded, “Yeah, the house wasn’t even that damaged. I mean, the fire would have caused the floor to fall in anyway, it’s just that saving the people expedited the process.”

          Annabeth took back her phone, reading quickly through the article as Percy and Peter kept chatting. A minute later, she looked up.

          “Hey, Peter?”

          The kid stopped mid-chuckle, and both boys turned to look at her. “Yeah?” the brunette asked, easy smile still in place. God, she loved that Percy could put that smile on anyone’s face, no matter his own troubles.

          Reining in her distractions, Annabeth continued, quizzical. “How did you know the floor fell through?”

          Just like that, the smile was gone, Peter’s face pale. “Didn’t it say in the article?” he asked slowly, knuckles knitting themselves together on top of the table.

          “Not that I saw.”

          “I could have sworn,” Peter started, then stopped, a nervous laugh making its way out of his throat. “Maybe I misread, I dunno. Reading isn’t my strong suit, I could swear the article said that.”

          The light in Percy’s eyes was gone, replaced with an amused but calculating look. “You don’t happen to have been there, have you? Seen the floor collapse in person? Though looking at that picture of the house, I can’t tell the floor collapsed from the outside.”

          The pale desperation faded from Peter’s face with each deep breath he took until it was replaced with determination. “I-”

          The barista called his name. Smiling with relief, Peter stood and retrieved their orders. Each taking their own drink, they agreed to walk and talk outside.

          Sipping his drink, Percy shot a glance at Peter. “You were saying?” he asked.

          Peter was mid-sip on his own drink, and couldn’t answer right away. Before he could, they heard screams from a few blocks away. All three turned toward the source of the noise.

          “Monsters?” Annabeth asked, hand drifting toward the dagger she kept concealed in her combat boots.

          “Probably.” Percy’s own hand drifted toward his pocket.

          At the same time, Annabeth and Peter turned to one another. “Stay here,” they both said, and started running, Percy at Annabeth’s flank.

          “What are you doing, Peter?” Annabeth asked, even the exertion of a full sprint not enough to dull her voice.

          “What are _you_ doing? I told you to stay there!” The kid answered, ducking down an alley to their right and kneeling to unzip his backpack.

          The demigods followed him in, protective. “We have to go help!” Percy said, inching back toward the street. “Promise me you’ll stay here.”

          Peter pulled a ball of blue and red fabric from his bag, shaking it out as he stepped out of his pants and shirt. He was in too deep with these two to back out now; from what he gathered, they already knew his secret. And what the hell was Percy saying, they need to go help?

          “I can’t make that promise,” he said, tapping the spider on his chest and slipping on his mask as the suit conformed to his body and taking off up the wall at a run. “Keep an eye on my backpack!”

          Percy and Annabeth barely hesitated before getting to work. Percy quickly grabbed and zipped Peter’s backpack, slinging it over his shoulders before jogging to catch up with Annabeth, who was already walking away with her Yankees cap in hand.

          “Have to say,” Percy said as the pair broke into a run, “I wouldn’t have expected that from him at first, but he is terrible at keeping his secret.”

          “He’s a newbie, give him time,” Annabeth replied as they rounded a corner toward the commotion. “Besides, he owes us coffee. Maybe we can mentor him.”

          “Hah, maybe.”

          Seconds later they found the source of the screams: police had arrived on scene, but a few masked and armed men along with several monsters, probably disguised as their companions by the Mist, were threatening to shoot anything that moved. Assessing the situation, Percy saw Peter, decked in red and blue, creeping silently along a building edge.

          “Shit, guns,” Annabeth grumbled, eyes darting about the scene as the gears turned in her head. “Let’s let Spidey take care of the real ones, and take out the monsters for him. He seems like he wouldn’t kill them, but they need to go and I don’t know if he’s Clearsighted.”

          “Sounds like a plan,” Percy replied, drawing Riptide and darting across the street, closer to the action. The two huddled at a corner, waiting for their opportunity. As soon as Spider-man hopped into the fray, they leapt into action.

          Annabeth donned her cap, fading from sight as Percy jumped into the monsters’ field of vision and began to taunt them. He heard Peter throwing similar quips at the criminals he was fighting, and grinned. The kid had guts. The monsters, maybe eight in total, began to creep toward him, drastically evening the odds of Peter’s fight. As soon as they were within reach, Percy leapt forward and slashed his sword at the nearest monster. His blow struck true across its neck, but he didn’t stick around long enough to watch it turn to dust. Rolling, he watched as Annabeth joined the visible and plunged her dagger between the shoulderblades of the next monster. Percy didn’t recognize what they were fighting. It was vaguely humanoid, but not enough so to pass as anything but a monster.

          Standing quickly, Percy slashed another monster through the stomach and spun to face the next one. Across the intersection, Peter had disabled all four criminals’ guns with webbing and was locked in a brawl against them. At Percy’s signal, Annabeth left the monsters to help him, sheathing her dagger as she ran. Percy  dodged and spun, slashing and cutting through the remaining monsters without sparing a glance at his opponents, attention half-focused on the wrong fight. He had certainly faced more difficult monsters, but a bit of practice never hurt anyone.

          The last monster dissolved to dust around his sword, lodged in its heart. As soon as his blade was free, Percy turned it back to a pen and turned to face Peter and Annabeth. The last criminal hit the ground as he walked toward them, knocked cold by a quick jab by Annabeth. She straightened, then took Peter by the elbow and marched him away from the police and reporters, coming too late to ask questions.

          As soon as they were in private, Peter pulled off his mask, expression incredulous. Percy handed him his backpack, waiting silently while he redressed.

          Back in his civilian clothes, Peter turned to them, still shocked.

          “What was that? Why were you two there? I told you to stay back!”

          “And we told you we intended to help,” Annabeth replied. “You should be glad we did, twelve to one isn’t a fair fight. Even for Spider-man.”

          Peter shook his head, hand in his hair. “Sure, whatever. I could have taken them. But I only fought four, the rest were on you two! And what was that, a sword?” He turned to Percy, eyebrows at his hairline.

          “Oh, yeah.” Percy fished Riptide out of his pocket and uncapped it, careful to keep the blade away from his companions. “It may not look like a sword to you right now, but it is one. Anaklusmos is its name, riptide.”

          “Oh my god, that’s a sword. Why do you just have a sword? Why would it not look like a sword?”

          Percy grinned. “I carry it with me for protection from monsters, like those things we fought back there. Most mortals can’t tell it’s a sword, though, because something called the Mist only shows them what they want to believe.”

          “Monsters? Mist? Mortals?” Peter looked absolutely shell shocked. “Wait, why do you say ‘mortals’ like you’re not one?”

          “I’m not. I’m a demigod.”

          “A what?”

          “Half god, half human. My mother is Athena, and his father is Poseidon,” Annabeth supplied, taking pity on the confused teen. “Usually I would say it’s hard to believe, but you are a literal superhero.”

          Peter seemed to be slowly recovering from his confusion. “Half god, holy cow. So that’s why you two seemed so familiar with Arachne. You totally are.”

          “You could say that,” Annabeth said dryly.

          “Wait, if mortals can’t see the sword, what does that make me?” The kid asked, lips pursed.

          Percy shrugged. “Maybe you’re far enough removed from human that you can see through the Mist, or maybe you’re a clearsighted mortal. Or maybe you’ve just seen enough weird stuff in your life to believe anything. It’s hard to say.”

          “Huh. So, children of the gods? Really? I didn’t think they were real.”

          “Nor did I, but monsters are pretty good proof. And, y’know, magic powers, magic swords, quests, the Underworld, freaking Hera…” Percy trailed off, looking at the sky like he expected it to argue. No response came.

          Peter had dealt with elements of the unknown so far. He had seen some alien tech, and some human tech, and heard tell of some magic. He had never heard someone so casually mention magic powers, or the Underworld, or an apparent grudge against a goddess. He chose the easiest question.

          “Magic powers?”

          Annabeth was nothing if not her boyfriend’s best hypewoman. She kept him in check, sure, but she would not turn down an opportunity to gush a little bit. Sue her, the boy was amazing.

          “Oh, yeah, Percy is decked out. He has full control over water, and even some liquids as long as they contain water. He also can communicate with equine and marine animals, and has a Cyclops brother who is a general in Poseidon’s army. He can control the waves, once killed a sea monster in like five minutes, and saved me from sirens by making an air bubble underwater. We’ve got some magic.”

          The boyish grin that had introduced the pair to Peter had returned to his face as he listened to Annabeth.

          “No way,” he said, “no way any of that’s true. Prove it.”

          So maybe Percy liked to show off a little bit. But they still had time before lunch with his mom and Paul, so he walked with Peter and Annabeth to the nearest shore. Meanwhile, Peter texted Mr. Stark:

**Peter [11:14]**

Hey Mr. Stark! Does my suit have underwater capabilities?

**Mr. Stark [11:14]**

Kid, look at who you’re talking to. Your suit has everything.

**Mr. Stark [11:15]**

But I’d prefer to be there when you test them out, don’t just go jumping into the ocean.

 

          “Hey, Percy?”

          “Yeah, what’s up?” They had been walking in silence for a few blocks, Peter’s childlike excitement seeming to plateau.

          “Is it okay if Tony Stark comes by? I didn’t mean to, but I asked if the suit has underwater tech and he said he wanted to supervise me finding out. Does he know about demigods?”

          Annabeth answered before Percy could, Peter’s excitement having apparently transferred to her. “It is absolutely okay if Tony Stark comes by, and if he doesn’t yet then he will. More importantly, why did you not mention that you _know Tony Stark_ and _regularly text him_?”

          Peter grinned, sheepish. “I didn’t know it was so important! It’s just Mr. Stark.”

          Annabeth went on to chatter excitedly about how he was not “just Mr. Stark” and was in fact one of the greatest inventors of their time, alongside the Wakandan Princess Shuri. Realizing that she was just repeating his own thoughts, Peter continued texting Mr. Stark.

 

**Mr. Stark [11:17]**

Pete?

**Peter [11:18]**

Sorry, distracted. I’m not going to jump into the ocean, but my friend is!

**Mr. Stark [11:18]**

Christ, your friend is what?? Why didn’t you say that? I’m on my way.

**Peter [11:19]**

Wait no it’s safe Mr. Stark he’s okay don’t worry about it

**Jarvis’ Auto Response [11:19]**

Mr. Stark is currently flying, and will receive your text when in safer circumstances.

 

          Oops. Well, that’s fine. At least he’s not cooped up in that tower. The trio had reached the beach while he was texting, and were quickly approaching the waves.

          “Well,” Percy said, standing just close enough that the waves nipped at his toes. “What do you want to see?”

          Peter grinned, pocketing his phone. “All of it!”

          Shrugging, Percy stepped into the waves, the water around him receding. He kept walking, the sand around him dry in a perfect circle, but the water flowing naturally everywhere else. When he got to shoulder height, the water rose above his head in a dome. He kept walking, black hair disappearing beneath the surf.

          “He might be there a while,” Annabeth said with a grin. “The fish like to chat with him whenever he goes down. They like knowing what’s going on up here, and updating him on the news down there.”

          “Really?” Peter laughed. “That’s awesome. What do they tell him?”

          Annabeth shrugged. “Mostly news on pollution and populations. Sometimes they tell him about drama with Poseidon and his court, which is always fun to hear about.”

          “Sounds like it.”

          They kept chatting for a few minutes before the sound of rockets behind them made them jump. Iron Man quickly decelerated, hovering in front of them for just a moment before shooting off toward the ocean and then under the waves. Seconds later, he reemerged, holding Percy carefully with an arm around his shoulders.

          “What were you thinking, jumping into the ocean like that? You could have died, kid! Pete, you say this is your friend? You didn’t even try to convince him to stay on land?” Tony dropped Percy safely onto the beach, landing next to him a moment later and opening his face plate. “I mean, look at you! You look like… Actually, you’re perfectly dry. I take it back. What the hell is going on here?”

          Percy brushed himself off, pushing his hair away from his forehead. “I was trying to go for a walk.”

          “What, in the ocean? No, how are you dry? And why aren’t either of you worried right now?”

          Annabeth was speechless in front of Tony Stark, but Peter was unfazed. “He’s a demigod, Mr. Stark! His dad is Poseidon, so I asked if he would show me what he can do.”

          The anger in Tony’s eyes died, replaced with a glimmer of recognition. He turned to Percy. “A demigod, huh? Shouldn’t you be at camp?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Peter is such a good kid I love him. Also I wanted this to be done three pages ago but now it is 10:55 P M and it's a bit longer than intended oops
> 
> I have tons of places I want this fic to go, but no real plan, so I can't make any promises about updates. Chapter two is in the works, but not so far along that I can publish it just yet. You can find me on tumblr at probablypercyjackson if you want to talk, or ask about updates and spoilers!


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for sticking around for chapter two! This one is a little shorter, but I couldn't wait to clear up Tony's involvement.

          “Shouldn’t you be at camp?” was the last sentence Annabeth expected to hear from Tony Stark. Avengers stuff, maybe. Engineer jargon, some quips, a witty joke, absolutely. The man was a legend. What she hadn’t realized was that his legendary status may be literal.

          Before she had time to think about it, Percy’s eyes - gods, that  _ stare _ , like he was daring the world to test him - had snapped to Mr. Stark. She recognized that look, it was the same dagger-throwing glare he sent the creeps that tried to catcall her when they walked together. Try as she might, her own “I-will-set-you-on-fire” face couldn’t hold a candle to Percy’s defensive glower. 

          “What do you know about camp?” he asked Mr. Stark, voice even and strong but the sudden unnatural calm of the tide behind him betraying his concealed anger.

          Tony, having been through experiences comparable to Percy’s, was unaffected by the defensive glint in the boy’s eye. “Enough,” he answered coldly, “and if you don’t explain what’s going on, kid, I’ll take you straight to Chiron myself.”

          “Funny enough, we have special permission from Chiron to come and go from camp as we please.” Percy replied, icy voice rolling with the tide. Annabeth was almost surprised to see him treat Tony Stark, famous billionaire and literal superhero, so coldly, but knew firsthand how deep Percy’s loyalty to camp ran. Nothing meant more to him, and so far he hadn’t given anything away.

          Tony raised an eyebrow at Percy’s declaration of liberty. “Right, sure, because Chiron just does that. You two are probably runaways, so desperate for a quest that you’d run right into danger.”

          Okay, this was getting dangerous. The waves were beginning to froth at Percy’s feet, a clear sign of annoyance concealed within what seemed natural from an outside perspective. Cutting off what was sure to be a stream of questions from Peter, Annabeth replied before any of the boys could.

          “We’ve had enough questing for a lifetime, Mr. Stark. Defeating Gaea and visiting Tartarus in the same week will do that to you. If you have to know, we’re only at camp now to help protect and train the younger heroes.” Annabeth would later mourn the fact that her first words to Tony Stark were gloating and patronizing, but that could come later.

          Before Tony’s raised eyebrow could bring forth another cutting remark - she was beginning to realize that he was as defensive about Peter as she was about Percy, but could think on that later - Peter finally got a question in edgewise.

          “Okay, hold up. I am going to ask you both-” he pointed to Percy and Annabeth “-about that Gaea and Tartarus stuff later, but what is this camp you’re all going on about?”

          “Camp Half-Blood is a training camp for demigods, where they learn to be heroes and protect themselves in the real world.” Tony supplied, steady gaze breaking contact with Percy’s to regard Peter carefully, as though considering how much to tell him.

          Percy piped up, and Annabeth was happy to see the waves had stopped frothing, though they still were unnaturally calm. “Right,” he said, analytical gaze remaining on Tony, “and I still want to know how you know that.” Usually Annabeth would be surprised to see Percy so cold with a stranger, considering his friendly demeanor, but she understood: any outsider who had information on camp, particularly a high-profile outsider like Tony Stark, was a threat. 

          Tony looked back to Percy, resignation set in his features. “You really have to know?”

          Annabeth moved to Percy’s side, suppressing a smile when her feet remained dry within reach of the tide, and answered, “Considering you know of camp but we don’t know how, we unfortunately have to press.”

          Tony pursed his lips. “Fine,” he said, “But not here. There’s an open apartment window in the building to my left, and you can never tell who’s listening.”

          Annabeth eyed the window, but it stayed open. She found herself agreeing with Tony. “Where to, then?”

          Humming, Tony looked around. “Avenger’s Tower? It’s not far from here.”

          Percy shrugged, then cupped his hands around his mouth and whistled two notes, long and loud. Peter, who Annabeth assumed had enhanced hearing, winced and started to question Percy, but the demigod shushed him, eyes to the sky.

          The beating of large wings quickly came nearer as Spartan and Blackjack alighted on the beach next to them. Peter’s questioning look turned awestruck as Percy hopped lightly onto Blackjack’s back, muttering a hushed conversation with the two geldings while he did so. Annabeth only caught a few words, something about Central Park and apples, and rolled her eyes before turning to Peter.

          “Want a ride?” she asked, smiling. “I know you’re fine to travel yourself, but we have a bit of a time limit today.”

          Considering Peter’s enthusiastic nodding, despite Tony’s efforts to convince him to “just suit up, Pete, it doesn’t take that long, what if you fall?”, Annabeth felt sure that he would have taken her offer regardless of whether he was suited up. She climbed onto Spartan’s wide back, then helped Peter on behind her. 

          “Lead the way,” Percy told Tony, who had his hands over his face while he shook his head at Peter. Seeming to accept the danger of the situation, he replaced his face plate and took off, shooting toward the New York skyline. Blackjack and Spartan kicked off after him, Annabeth’s massive grey unhindered by the extra weight on his back even as Peter’s arms and legs tightened around Annabeth’s and his middles respectively. They followed Tony closely, used to the inventor’s preferred high speed. 

          Annabeth caught Percy grinning at her, his earlier cold front shattered with excitement. “Avenger’s Tower!” he mouthed to her, voice useless against the wind. She grinned back, laughing at the way Peter tensed up as the pegasi began to descend toward Tony’s launchpad. It was a pretty conspicuous place to land, but Annabeth felt sure that the people of New York would see the pegasi as drones or something. Once Peter had dismounted, practically vibrating with leftover adrenaline, they followed Tony inside.

          He had already situated himself on one of the couches, a glass of whiskey in hand and eyes obscured by his trademark sunglasses. Peter set down his bag inside the door and went behind the nearby bar, returning with three sodas that he placed on the coffee table in front of the couch. He then joined Tony on the far couch, one knee hiked up next to him on the seat but foot very intentionally hanging off the side. Taking his cues, Percy and Annabeth each grabbed a soda and sat on the opposite couch, looking at Tony expectedly.

          The inventor sighed, swirling his whisky absently. “Alright, before I start, you all swear not to repeat this, okay? It’s not exactly common knowledge.”

          Annabeth and Percy both nodded, then Peter jumped and nodded as well, not realizing the question had also been for him.

          Setting down his drink, Tony began, “So you know that most wars are the gods arguing, right? Usually Poseidon and Zeus for the big ones, but sometimes different gods for smaller wars. And then all their kids and the other gods pick a side, and thousands of mortals die in the crossfire.”

          Percy and Annabeth both nodded, Annabeth sending Peter a soft smile as his eyes widened in surprise.

          “Right, well, World War two was one of the big ones. It was mostly mortals that drove it in the beginning, and again in the end, but in the middle the gods were pretty involved. I don’t remember who was on which side, but I know Hephaestus disguised himself as a human to do his part for the war. He couldn’t really sit in his forges and magically appear weapons for the armies, so he created an identity and worked as a mortal inventor. As Howard Stark, he could give weapons to the troops without any suspicion, and could learn up close what the mortals had come up with recently.” Tony said this nonchalantly, admitting to the three of them that the most famed inventor of the twentieth century had been a god in disguise. Even the demigods were surprised at that.

          “And well, he fell in love with it. He was so fascinated by all the new tech, and the war, and the Super Soldier Serum, that he got caught up in it all. He still attended his forges, sure, but he was totally focused on the mortal world. He lives his life as Howard as fully as he could. Then of course, as gods do, he fell in love with a mortal woman and had me. Then, as gods do, he decided he was too busy to take care of me properly between his godly duties and his life as Howard Stark. So, I spent a lot of time at camp up until he suddenly wanted me in his life again as his protegee and heir to the Stark Empire. Fortunately by then I could defend myself against monsters okay, but it was a little overwhelming. Chiron didn’t want to let me go, but he couldn’t disobey Hephaestus.”

          Annabeth cracked a wry smile. She knew well how disobeying a god went, and couldn’t blame Chiron for being intimidated. Though, of the gods she had met, Hephaestus was quite nice. Then again, she had never seen him angry.

          “Then, a few years after I graduated MIT, which Chiron allowed because I could be at camp in the summer and around fellow demigods in the school year, Barnes killed Howard’s wife and Hephaestus’ disguise. He couldn’t hide in the mortal world anymore, so I took over Stark Industries. You know the rest, I’m sure.” 

          Annabeth nodded once again, and saw Percy doing the same. Just as Percy opened his mouth to ask a question, Peter jumped in excitedly.

          “No way, so you’re a demigod too! A son of Hephaestus? So that’s why you’re such a great inventor! Hey, why did you never tell me? That’s so cool!”

          Tony raised an eyebrow at him. “Sure, it’s cool until you’re facing monsters alone with no backup and your dad won’t help you because he’s not allowed to play favorites.”

          “Hah, yeah. That one’s fun.” Percy answered dryly. Annabeth knew he had nothing against his father, and they were on relatively good terms, but all demigods were a little bitter about those battle rules.

          Tony’s gaze shifted to him from where it rested on Peter. “Yeah, but if you’ve been through Tartarus, I’m sure you don’t struggle too hard against monsters.”

          Percy grinned, but there was nothing behind it. The mention of Tartarus seemed to do that both of them, leaving them with a false sense of emptiness from memories better off forgotten. “Yeah, I guess,” he said. “Back when I was first starting out, though, monsters were pretty scary. You remember Medusa, Annabeth? Auntie M?”

          Annabeth returned his smile, now more genuine in memory of their first quest. It had been exhausting and traumatizing at the time, but six years later their battle with Medusa was faded and almost enjoyable.

          “Oh, gods, she was terrifying! And poor Grover, taking swings with a tree branch.” They laughed together, fondly remembering their friend blindly flying around the mythical Gorgon with a natural club.

          “Yeah, that was kind of our first real fight! I mean, I did fight the Minotaur, but I did have to do that alone.”

          Annabeth scoffed. “Yeah, and then you passed out for like a week. I’m still jealous of you, by the way. You got a prophecy right away, I had to sit around for years before I could leave!”

          “Sure, but at least you got training! I had, what, a week?”

          The two demigods continued to banter, Peter enraptured by their conversation and soaking up every detail he could for questioning later. Tony watched fondly, despite himself. He knew that befriending demigods was dangerous, and that he would be hearing some questioning from Peter later. He made a note to himself not to sell the glory of being a demigod, only the misery. He had to keep him safe, Spider-man or no. He also made a note to give Chiron a call, and warn him that a young superhero might be visiting camp soon. 

          Peter wasn’t a demigod - he didn’t have the aura of power that Tony had immediately felt from Percy. Really, the kid had the demeanor, appearance, and power of a Greek god. His challenging has proved his power, and proved his minute control of the waves. He went quip for quip with Tony, and was clever in his defense of camp while still remaining calmly intimidating. Tony had the feeling that he was smarter than he let on, but often let his actions do the talking, similar to Peter. Peter was super, in every sense of the word, but he was mortal. For that, Tony was thankful. The kid really didn’t need to add literal monsters to his figurative ones.

          At first, he had been worried about Peter getting involved with the demigods’ world. But after meeting Percy and Annabeth and hearing snippets of their adventures, he decided anyone who could survive Tartarus could keep his kid out of trouble.

          And Annabeth - there was an intense intelligence hidden behind those clear grey eyes. She was analytical and smart, and seemed withdrawn but only to pick apart what she saw and heard. He could already see that Percy brought out the best in her, didn’t leave her needing to analyze and consider. Tony knew without a doubt that she could help Peter with his own shortcomings in battle.

          Pete was his own case. He was brilliant, a young and quick mind chock full of bits and pieces of things he’s heard. He could parrot information, and Tony often caught him stealing words and phrases from the other Avengers in the tower. And holy cow could the kid invent. He built computers, much like Tony at his age, and then mixed his own web fluid and built web shooters out of spare parts in his apartment room. All he was missing was world experience. And hey, if Percy and Annabeth could help Pete get that experience as safely as possible, who was he to stand in the way of hands on learning?

          Suddenly, Percy was standing up, phone in hand as he began to walk back toward the launchpad. “Sorry, Mr. Stark, but we have to get going. We promised to be at my mom’s for lunch by one.”

          Annabeth stood at the door, hand raised in farewell. “It was great meeting you, Peter, Mr. Stark. I’m sure we’ll see you soon enough.” She grinned, hand closing on the door handle.

          “Call me Tony,” the inventor replied, waving to the demigods, “and fly safe.” They beamed at him, and the beating of pegasus wings filled the air in seconds.

          Tony turned to see Peter frowning from his spot on the couch. “What’s wrong, kid?”

          Peter looked up. “How come I can’t call you Tony?”

          Tony grinned, stooping to grab his empty glass and walking toward the bar. “Those two are the greatest demigods of this generation. They’ve earned the right to call me Tony. When you have done what Annabeth Chase and Percy Jackson have done, you can do just about whatever you please.”

          Tony may not be in great touch with Chiron, but he had spoken to him recently enough (there was a homeless kid, a few blocks from the Tower, whose scent the monsters were beginning to pick up) to hear him gush about the heroes. Peter, for once, didn’t question his knowledge, and instead settled down at the end of the bar to work on homework.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Somehow, some way, I will work some one on one Percy and Tony in here. I think they'll get along.
> 
> Thanks so much for reading! Comments and kudos are endlessly appreciated, and I do reply, but comments asking for spoilers can only be answered via DMing my tumblr @probablypercyjackson ;) I do have a plan for the next chapter, but I can't make any promises on how fast I'll have it out. I will, as always, do my best :D
> 
> Let me know if you think any of these guys are OOC! Percy Jackson is ingrained into my soul, but this is my first fic writing any of these characters and I'm not as familiar with Tony and Pete. Let me know how I'm doing!

**Author's Note:**

> Peter is such a good kid I love him. Also I wanted this to be done three pages ago but now it is 10:55 P M and it's a bit longer than intended oops
> 
> I have tons of places I want this fic to go, but no real plan, so I can't make any promises about updates. Chapter two is in the works, but not so far along that I can publish it just yet. You can find me on tumblr at probablypercyjackson if you want to talk, or ask about updates and spoilers!


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